Friday, August 09, 2013

Northam hammers Jackson on failure to follow campaign finance laws

E.W. Jackson is the Republican candidate for Virginia Lieutenant Governor, but he can't--or won't--obey Virginia's campaign finance laws. Today, Jackson was hammered by his Democratic opponent over this issue. From the campaign of Ralph Northam for Lieutenant Governor:

Richmond, VA – Yesterday the news broke that E.W. Jackson failed to disclose a $9,000 lobbyist funded plane ride he took with his ticket-mates in May [AP, 8/8/13]. While both Ken Cuccinelli and Mark Obeinshain reported the plane ride, Jackson did not. Just last week Jackson voiced his opposition to any new ethics reform laws, citing that politicians should hold themselves accountable [HearSay [7/30/13].

"For the third time in as many months. E.W. Jackson has failed to follow Virginia election law by not disclosing a $9000 lobbyist funded plane ride. Virginians deserve transparency in their government. Jackson's failure to disclose is not only a violation but further evidence that ethical reform is absolutely necessary. Yet, Jackson continues to oppose even minimal ethics reform. His conduct just demonstrates that he is unwilling to meet even the minimal laws to give Virginians the transparency they deserve in their government," said Northam Campaign Chairman Senator Donald McEachin (D-Henrico).

E.W. Jackson On Ethics:

“If people are committed to violating rules of ethics, they are going to that, but if people are committed to living at a higher standard, then any rules or laws we can hold themselves to. We are not going to have any problems. I think that we have to hold ourselves to a higher standard, rather than always simply looking for ways to change the lawto make people do what they already know is right” [HearSay,7/30/13].

Ralph Northam, a candidate for Lieutenant Governor, served as President of the Honor Court at the Virginia Military Institute, and teaches medical ethics at Eastern Virginia Medical School. In the Senate Northam is a leader on reforming the state’s broken ethics laws. In 2010, Northam co-patroned legislation with Delegate Ward Armstrong that authorized open ethics investigations to continue even after an elected official resigns and barred lobbyists from participating in the process.

The Northam Plan:

· Ban gifts over $100 to Virginia lawmakers and their immediate families, with the exception of intra-family gifts. Disclose all legally permitted gifts under $100.

· Establish an open ethics board that reviews all financial disclosure for discrepancies, has subpoena power, and can penalize those that break the law. No lobbyist can serve on this board.

· Lower the threshold from $10,000 to $5,000 to qualify for an elected official to disclose an investment.

· Authorize ethics investigations to continue even after elected officials resign from office.